Peter Mason

Peter Mason is an Associate Member of Addington Chambers who specialises in indirect taxes. He is a Barrister, Chartered Certified Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with wide experience working in Customs and Excise, industry for the banking and insurance sectors, and more recently as a Consultant and lawyer.

He specialises in Value Added Tax and also advises on other sales taxes in the UK such as Stamp taxes. He also advises on the application and effect of EU VAT law, in the UK and Europe.

Peter likes to deliver solutions, so his practice is based on three areas, advisory, planning and litigation. He advises business, individuals and not for profit organisation on a wide range of queries, and his planning ideas are always firmly rooted in valid proposals that fit within the rules and purpose of the law. Peter is authorised to conduct litigation and can accept direct access instructions.

Peter also advises international clients and suggests planning ideas and legal proposals that align with the letter and spirit of the laws they operate in and has looked at optimisation solutions for sales taxes, including “transaction privilege taxes” in other jurisdictions as far away as Arizona. 

Cases

Wagon Finance Ltd v Commrs Customs & Excise (CCE) [1999] UKVATTR 16288 Obtained VAT exemption on HP Admin fees: Win. Abbey National Plc v CCE [2001] CJEU Case C-408/98: Ground breaking case obtaining deductibility of VAT on selling costs on transfer of going concern- a legal fiction which creates an ‘in-business non-supply’ for VAT purposes: Win. Abbey National Plc v CCE [2001] UKVATTR 17506: Obtained exemption for outsourced collective investment fund management: Win Abbey National v CCE [2005] EWHC 1187(Ch): Challenge to the regulations imposing straight line apportionment for bad debt relief for impaired HP and conditional sale finance agreements. Lost the case but won the battle the law was changed shortly afterwards. Abbey National v CCE [2006] CJEU Case C-168/04: Case referred to Europe on the back of the French Conseil’D’Etat ruling in Sogefonds SA, and obtained exemption for administration fund management for collective investment funds: Win. Abbey National v CCE [2006] EWCA Civ 886: Case concerning whether a virtual assignment of property was letting or leasing of immovable property: Part win. Cabvision Ltd V Revenue and Customs Commissioners (RCC) [2013] UKFTT 674(TC): Acted as Counsel in a complex case concerning direct tax based structured finance arrangements, and whether a credit note could be issued: Taxpayer win. Intelligent Managed Services Ltd v RCC [2105] UKUT 341: Acted as Counsel in First-tier Tribunal and in appeal to Upper Tribunal (led by QC) on whether business sale into a VAT group could be a transfer of a going concern: Taxpayer win. Represented a barrister in an appeal against assessments and determination of personal tax liability under self-assessment, case settled before hearing: Taxpayer win.

Publications

Tax Journal

26 July and 2 August 1999: VAT and Financial Services, Sparkassernes Datacenter and CSC Financial Services: with Artur Bugsgang of Vett Listrup & Partners, Copenhagen. 8 Nov 2004: What did the Romans ever do for Tax law? With Daron Gunson. 31 Jan 2005: Anglais Anglaises, c’est moi, Mason, qui vous parle: Compiler of special Entente Cordiale edition of Tax Journal, and “The American Jewels” – how using option theory as developed in the United States could predict the outcome of the Marks and Spencer direct tax cross border loss offset case in the CJEU- Peter predicted accurately that option theory would be applied- taxpayers do not have a free option to decide the locus of tax liabilities and related credits. 22 May 2006: On Beltane Eve: concerning the Abbey National VAT and funds case at the CJEU 26 June 2006: Awe of the Civil Law is the beginning of all VAT wisdom: Concerning the importance of civil law concepts in understanding VAT 12 April 2010: VAT focus: VAT and human rights; 17 May 2010: VAT exemption for insurance intermediaries. 26 August 2010: VAT groups and EU Infraction proceedings. 16 June 2011: What is a TOGC? 9 February 2012: VAT and insurance, the RBS case. 5 July 2013: Ask an expert: VAT issues arising for an overseas charity buying a UK property. 30 May 2014: Ask an expert; problems with VAT groups when many become one. 6 August 2015: VAT Groups: an “Intelligent” Solution to TOGC’s. 11 May 2016: Aspiro: A judgment set in stone? With Hamish Garnett of Metlife and David Jordorson of the Association of British Insurers.

Taxation

1999: Roman law re-asserts itself: On the Abbey National TOGC case and meaning of succession. 13 June 2013: Study and Learn: Tax penalties and the Hok case. 26 August 2105: An Intelligent Solution.

Vat Digest

Jul / August 2009: Utmost Good Faith: with Hamish Garnett of AIG, looking at the VAT exemptions in the insurance sector. Sep /Oct 2010: Is European law “Always Speaking”?

Tax Adviser

28 May 2013: No GAAR without a GADR. 27 February 2014: Do the knowledge on consideration: with Linda Adelson of Rosetta Tax on the Cabvision case 4 December 2015 VAT or no VAT: When does a business sale amount to a TOGC?

European publications

Recent Developments in Value Added Tax – The Evolution of European VAT Jurisprudence and its Role in the EU Common VAT System: Lang/Pistone/Schuch/Staringer/Raponi – Linde Verlag, Vienna. ISBN 978-3-7073-2753-3 : Two chapters: “Ich bin ein wissenschaftlicher Steuerrechtsanwalt“ – After Axa, we are all scientific tax There is no such thing as a

Imperial College at Wye, BSc in Agriculture and Economics

Open University LLB; Chartered Certified Accountant

City University, Bar Vocational Course; Called to the Bar of England and Wales (Grays Inn, 2006).